Remember USS Liberty: Israeli attack killed 34
June 14, 2010
Rabbi Jeffrey Adler, in his critique (Letters, June 8th) of Dan Carpenter, seems to conveniently forget yet another similar aggression that took place off Palestine’s shores: the worst attack, without any counterattack, on a U.S. Navy ship on the high seas.
On June 8, 1967, while patrolling in international waters in the eastern
Mediterranean Sea, USS Liberty, flying the American flag in clear weather, was savagely attacked without warning or justification by Israeli air and naval forces using bombs, napalm and torpedoes.
Of a crew of 294, the ship suffered 34 Americans killed in action and 173 wounded.
Survivors reported that the Israeli torpedo boat crews fired on the inflated lifeboats launched by the crew after the captain gave the order “prepare to abandon ship.” This order had to be rescinded because the crew was unable to stand on the main deck without being fired upon and the life rafts were destroyed as they were launched.
The ship itself was so badly damaged that it never sailed on an operational mission again and was sold in 1970 as scrap.
See www.usslibertyveterans. org.
At least in this most recent incident the Israelis didn’t use bombs, napalm or torpedoes, for which the surviving civilians on board must be grateful.
Charles R. Most
Indianapolis
LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Remember the USS Liberty
June 9, 2010
I find it interesting that the Israeli attack on a flotilla of relief ships sailing towards Gaza came just in time to remind us all that June 8 marked the 43rd anniversary of an even more egregious Israel attack launched in international waters — on a ship of the United States Navy.
On June 8, 1967, Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats nearly sank the USS Liberty, an intelligence-gathering ship, killing 34 of our sailors and wounding 174 more. Both the Israeli and the United States governments have dismissed this outrage as a “tragic mistake.” Yet there is evidence that the Israelis did know that the ship was American, an opinion held by many including Admiral Thomas Moorer, formerly chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Regrettably, this attack remains the only serious U.S. Navy incident that has not received a full congressional investigation.
Given Bremerton’s long association with the Navy and its ships, we should not let this memory die. Readers may review the evidence by Googling “USS Liberty.” Even after 43 years, it is not too late to bring some closure to the survivors and to ensure that history will record the truth.
Robert W. Maule
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jun/09/letter-to-the-editor-remember-the-uss-liberty/
U.S. should take stand against Israel’s actions
Fouad A. Fadil Published: June 13, 2010
It is high time that the U.S. government took a firm stand against what our so-called friend Israel is doing. Our friends/allies do not commit piracy, and that is exactly what Israel did.
Israel attacked and boarded ships in international waters, and when the passengers and crew tried to defend themselves and repel the attackers, the Israeli soldiers opened fire, killing nine and wounding many others. One of the dead was an American citizen; among the passengers, one was an American diplomat and another was a survivor of Israel’s savage attack on the USS Liberty. The Liberty was attacked by Israel in 1967 while in international waters off the coast of Egypt, killing 34 U.S. Navy personnel and injuring 171. That ship was clearly flying the Stars and Stripes, but President Johnson at the time would not even allow an investigation to take place.
It is time that the U.S. government stop supporting Israel with the $3 billion annual gift until the government of Israel starts and completes an honest and earnest negotiation with the Palestinians.
Fouad A. Fadil
Fluvanna County
Time for U.S. to cut off aid to Israel Times Argus.com (Vermont)
By KATHARINE SHAPIRO
Recently, Israeli commandos boarded the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, part of the Free Gaza flotilla heading to Gaza in international waters. More than 700 peace activists from 38 countries, including the United States were aboard when Israeli commandos shimmied down ropes from American Blackhawk helicopters to the decks of the ship. We know that 10 to 19 of those on board were killed and scores more injured. We have reports only from the Israeli press that those unfortunate deaths occurred because the armed commandos were attacked by the peace activists with sticks and chairs. All of the activists themselves have been abducted and detained by Israel, and none have yet been able to tell their story. The boarding of the ship in international waters, the detention of its passengers and any deaths, are in clear breach of international law. Will anyone hold Israel responsible?
Among those abducted in the attack on the humanitarian flotilla are at least two respected U.S. citizens:
Ambassador Edward Peck, who was deputy director of the Cabinet Task Force on Terrorism at the Reagan White House and State Department liaison officer to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon.
Former U.S. Navy signalman Joe Meadors, resident of Texas, and a decorated veteran and a survivor of the Israeli attack on the USS Liberty, which killed 34 Americans and injured 174.
The ship was carrying 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the besieged people of Gaza, more than 1.5 million of them, who are forced to live in ever more deplorable conditions without adequate supplies of water, food, housing and sanitation because of Israel’s refusal to lift its blockade of innocent civilians.
What will it take for the citizens of Vermont, and of the United States, to stand up and demand that U.S. aid to Israel stop now, until the Israeli government is in full compliance with U.S. and international law? In the midst of our own economic crisis Congress willingly provides the government of Israel with well more than $3 billion a year in military aid, more than to any other country in the world. Israel is the 5th largest nuclear power in the world with the best equipped military in the region. Our dollars are used against innocent civilians within Israel, and the illegally occupied territories. Last week, Peter Welch voted “yes” to add yet another $205 million for weapons for Israel. Why?
There will be never be justice or peace in the Middle East until the United States takes responsibility for its role in funding the rogue state of Israel. Isn’t it time for us as responsible citizens to demand that our representatives and our government stop all aid to Israel now?
Katharine Shapiro lives in Middlesex.
Article published Jun 11, 2010
http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100611/OPINION04/6110311
The USS Liberty Memorial Website
0 Responses
Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.
You must be logged in to post a comment.